10 Best 5-Star Hotels in Miami — South Beach, Brickell & Bal Harbour

Faena Hotel Miami Beach is a beachfront resort unlike anything else in Miami, because Argentine businessman Alan Faena teamed up with Hollywood director Baz Luhrmann (the man behind Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby) and designer Catherine Martin to wake the old 1947 Saxony building into something like a living film set. You walk into the Cathedral lobby — gilded columns, painted murals — and dead center sits a gold-plated mammoth skeleton in a glass case by artist Damien Hirst, the kind of curated piece everyone stops to photograph. The palette runs bold red, gold and pink across every square inch. Outside there is a private beach with red-striped cabanas, a pool set in a palm garden, the South American-style Tierra Santa Spa, and the Faena Theater staging cabaret after dark. It has been voted the #1 hotel in Miami by Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice across several years. Best for couples and design lovers who fall for bold, story-rich rooms. Overall 9.0/10.

Picture a Mediterranean-style beach club that opened back in 1930 — once a playground for Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra — then meticulously restored by Pritzker Prize architect Richard Meier into an ultra-luxury resort in 2017. That's the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, set in Surfside right next to Bal Harbour. What makes it special is how it keeps the original arches, tiled courtyards and old-world charm intact, then flanks them with Meier's modern glass towers. The 900-foot private beach is far quieter than South Beach, backed by a Cabana Row lining two pools, plus Le Sirenuse Miami — a transplant of the legendary hotel in Positano, Italy. Reviews praise the attentive Four Seasons service, and couples rate it 9.6 on Booking.com. The trade-off is top-tier pricing and a location away from the South Beach buzz. It scores 9.2/10, ideal for couples and luxury travelers who want privacy and historic seaside charm.

The Setai, Miami Beach brings together two worlds that rarely meet. One side is the cream Art Deco building from the 1930s on Collins Avenue, restored down to the original detail; the other is a dark, composed Asian aesthetic of black brick, teak wood and warm low lighting that feels closer to a zen resort than a city hotel. The thing everyone talks about is the trio of pools set in a palm courtyard — three pools at three temperatures, so you pick your soak by mood, from bracing-cool to warm. The courtyard runs down to a private beach on South Beach, where staff set up loungers and umbrellas. Inside, Jaya serves Asian dishes and the beachside Ocean Grill handles easygoing meals. Reviews agree on the attentive service, the luxury that doesn't shout, and the easy walk into the Art Deco blocks. It holds an AAA Five Diamond and ranks among Greater Miami Beach's top resorts per Travel + Leisure. Score 9.0/10 — best for couples and luxury travelers chasing calm over a party.

Picture a beachfront luxury resort that, instead of showing off with gold and crystal, shows off greenery, reclaimed-wood walls and natural light — that is 1 Hotel South Beach, a 5-star eco-minded resort on more than 600 feet of Atlantic oceanfront at the north end of South Beach. The 1 Hotels brand has a clear philosophy about staying close to nature, so the whole building is dressed in salvaged wood, raw limestone, organic linen and thousands of real plants running from the lobby to the walkways. Walk in and it feels like an open forest in the city with the sound of waves behind it. The 426-plus rooms lean airy and earth-toned, many with ocean-view balconies and carved-stone tubs. The detail everyone talks about is the 4 pools — especially the 18th-floor rooftop pool with a wide Atlantic panorama, a favorite spot at sunset. Below, a generous private beach with loungers and service, plus a Bamford spa, a serious gym, and several restaurants built around organic local produce. Guest scores back it up: Agoda 8.8, Booking 8.7, Trip.com 4.5.

W South Beach takes the loud, fun energy of South Beach and folds it into the slick, design-led style of the W brand. It sits on Collins Avenue at the north end of the Art Deco District, facing the Atlantic head-on. What sets it apart from most South Beach hotels: every room and suite has its own private balcony and a roomy marble bathroom, and many open onto panoramic blue-water views. The heart of the resort is a deck of 3 outdoor pools hidden in a shady tropical palm garden, and you can walk straight through the garden to a private beach where staff set up loungers and umbrellas for you. The vibe is alive, modern and dotted with contemporary art, with an Away Spa, a gym, bars and in-house restaurants. Reviewers consistently flag rooms that run larger than the typical South Beach hotel, those ocean-view balconies, and the energetic mood. It scores 8.5/10 and suits couples and groups of friends who want a modern beachfront resort in the middle of the action.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach is one of the most storied names in all of Miami, open since 1954 from the drawing board of architect Morris Lapidus, the man who birthed the famous "Miami Modern" (MiMo) look. The sweeping white curved tower and the spiral-staircase lobby with its star-patterned marble floor became the postcard image of Miami's golden age — it has stood in as a set for the James Bond film Goldfinger and for Scarface. The place is a genuine resort-city: over 1,500 rooms across 4 buildings, a wide private beach, 6 pools with cabanas and poolside bars, the big Lapis spa, 9 restaurants in different styles, and the renowned LIV nightclub where DJs and celebrities turn up constantly. Walking around inside feels like a small town that has everything. The trade-off is crowds and a buzz that never really stops, so it suits party-and-fun people more than anyone chasing quiet. Overall score 8.4/10.

The Miami Beach EDITION is the resort Ian Schrager — the man who built the legendary boutique-hotel scene and ran Studio 54 — created with Marriott. He took the 1950s Seville building and reworked it into a clean white space that stays warm thanks to pale wood and a lot of greenery, set on Mid-Beach a good deal quieter and more private than the crowds of South Beach. At its core is a tropical garden with a pool tucked among the palms. The piece everyone talks about is The Basement — an underground complex with an ice rink, a bowling alley and a nightclub in one spot, which no other beachfront resort has. Dining runs to the Matador Room by renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, plus the all-day Market. Reviews line up on the photogenic design, the understated-luxe feel and the privacy. It scores 8.7/10 — ideal for couples and design lovers.

Nobu Hotel Miami Beach is a Nobu-brand hotel hidden inside the oceanfront tower of the legendary Eden Roc resort on Collins Avenue in Mid-Beach. What sets it apart from a typical Miami Beach hotel is the calm contemporary Japanese design by Studio PCH — warm-toned wood, natural stone, earthy linen, and soft low light that feels more like a Zen resort than a party town. The headline everyone talks about is Nobu Miami, chef Nobu Matsuhisa's renowned Japanese-Peruvian restaurant in the same building, plus a quiet adults-only oceanfront pool and the roughly 22,000-sq-ft Esencia Wellness Spa, one of the largest on Miami Beach. Out front sits a private Atlantic beach where staff set up your lounger and umbrella, and guests can also use Eden Roc's family pool and cabanas. Reviewers agree on the attentive service, the luxury-without-showing-off feel, and the calm of the Mid-Beach setting. The trade-off is distance from the buzz of South Beach — you'll lean on a car. Overall 8.6/10, best for couples and luxury travelers who want quiet beachfront and top Japanese food over a party scene.

Picture a beachfront resort designed like a grand Mediterranean villa, stretched along a private 4.5-acre beach in Sunny Isles Beach next to Bal Harbour. That is Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach, a Forbes Five-Star property where both the hotel and the spa hold the rating, and which U.S. News & World Report once named one of the top resorts in the country. What sets it apart is how private the Atlantic-front stay feels: 3 oceanfront pools, cabanas lined up along the sand, the Greek seafood room Avra (a New York transplant), the legendary Italian Il Mulino New York, and the ESPA at Acqualina spa that reviewers praise for its treatments. Bal Harbour Shops is about a 5-minute walk. Guests consistently flag the attentive service and calm luxury; the trade-offs are top-tier prices and a setting far from the buzz of South Beach. Overall 9.0/10 — best for couples, families, and luxury travelers who want private beachfront with everything in one place.

The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort is a 243-room luxury resort at the northern tip of Miami Beach, in Bal Harbour — one of the quietest, most private, most exclusive pockets in the city. It opened in 2012 on the site of the legendary Americana Hotel, built as three glass beachfront towers where every room faces the Atlantic or the Intracoastal through floor-to-ceiling glass and a private balcony. The signature that sets the brand apart is St. Regis Butler Service: a butler looks after every room around the clock, packing bags, brewing tea, pressing shirts and handling requests before you ask twice. Outside there are several beachfront pools among the palms, a private beach with staff setting up loungers and umbrellas, and the Remede Spa at over 1,300 sq m, rated one of Miami's best. Best of all, it sits directly across from Bal Harbour Shops, the open-air luxury mall — a short walk. Guests consistently praise the attentive service, the cleanliness, and a calm, family-friendly luxury. Overall 9.0/10.